The British Standards Institution

My previous role was with the British Standards Institution (BSI), a 126-year-old global organization renowned for developing and managing industry standards. BSI is a key player in the TIC (Testing, Inspection, and Certification) industry. You might be wondering, how did someone with a design background like me end up there?

After developing a VR training application for BSI as an independent contractor, I learned about an opening on their small, new 'Innovation' team. Their ambitious goal of pushing the boundaries on how companies could achieve trustworthy certifications- making them faster, smarter, and safer using the latest technology- caught my attention.

I learned a ton during my time at BSI. My experience there was incredibly varied, from managing client partnerships and analyzing data for AI potential to designing intuitive user interfaces and evaluating startup technology. However, the most invaluable experience, hands down, was helping build and implement an innovation team. The very idea of a dedicated innovation team thriving within an established organization absolutely fascinates me, and I'm keen to share some of my observations.

Common challenges

BSI actually began with a group of engineers driven to make the UK safer and more efficient. Two of their most notable early achievements included the standardization of glass windows and fishplates for train tracks. If you're ever visiting the UK, keep an eye out for BSI's heart-shaped 'kite mark' symbol found on just about every window, electrical panel, and more.

Over a century later, BSI has evolved into a multifaceted organization, now offering everything from audits and consulting to developing new standards. The introduction of an innovation department stems from a clear desire to stay at the forefront of new technology and industry practices, though, to no surprise, it comes with its own set of challenges.

1. Messy historical data
   Before you can move forward intelligently, you really have to understand the past. Sometimes, there's an expectation for magic, even when it might not be possible. It might surprise you, but many companies are incredibly behind on the tech front. They often buy new, half-baked tools to patch things up instead of actually repairing their foundation to build for the future. One solution? Leverage AI tools to recover structured data from the past and, from there, establish forward-thinking schemas and best practices for moving ahead.

   
   

2. Territorial legacy practices
   Change is definitely unsettling, and let's be real, no one gets paid more just for trying out new ideas. Plus, these new ideas need testing, and innovation teams can sometimes come off as invasive know-it-alls. Often, the go-to solution is a top-down mandate, with the CEO or director declaring, "This is the new way! Work with the Innovation team." Personally, I don't think that guarantees cooperation. Instead, I believe it needs to spread organically from within the organization, while still getting official recognition and support from leadership.

   
   

3. Bureaucracy
   It's definitely crucial to have smart processes in place, but sometimes they can completely derail productivity. People throw around the term "fail fast," yet in reality, they might be failing slowly because bureaucracy is interrupting the feedback loop. That's why it's so important to ensure just enough supervised freedom to consistently test and iterate on new ideas.

How does one 'measure' innovation

Rather than letting the term innovation remain a buzzword, I think it's important to define what innovation really means. According to ISO 560000 innovation is 'a new or changed entity, realizing or redistributing value.' Out of context this can sound a bit broad, but I like that it emphasizes: innovation isn't just coming up with new ideas, but rather the practical implementation of those new ideas.

As someone with industrial design experience, It would be a miss to not reference Don Norman's book, 'The Design of Everyday Things'. I've always liked the way he describes two distinct types of innovation: Incremental and Radical.

Incremental innovation is small, gradual improvements made to existing products or processes.

Radical innovation is significant, groundbreaking changes that fundamentally transform a product, market, or even daily life.

Both categories of innovation offer unique benefits and drawbacks for your business. Of course, measuring innovation can be tricky since it's not a single, easily quantifiable thing. However, by using a variety of metrics throughout your processes, you'll find plenty of adaptable ways to gauge innovation within your specific industry.

Some metrics could come from analyzing specific technology and how it has been trending in your industry

💡 Input Metrics

• R&D spending: what percentage of revenue is for research and development? This can indicate higher commitment to innovating

  
  

• Active members: how many total people are involved in R&D teams, projects, and initiatives?

  
  

• Time invested: how much time do employees spend working on innovation-related initiatives?

  
  

• Idea generation: while it's more of a 'vanity metric', the number of ideas created can indicate a culture of innovation.

⚙️ Process Metrics

• Project pipeline: track the quantity of ideas at each stage of your innovation funnel, monitor the rate projects move through each stage to identify bottlenecks, and critically, measure your overall Time to Market (TTM).

  
  

• Project status: utilize RAG (Red, Amber, Green) status indicators to quickly flag, categorize, and resolve issues.

  
  

• Project forecasting: determine what horizon (1, 2, or 3) your project targets, as this indicates the type of innovation (incremental or radical) and informs planning.

  
  

• Resource allocation: analyze how resources are distributed across the breadth of projects at each stage of the pipeline.

  
  

🏁 Output Metrics

• New revenue: measure the percentage of total revenue generated from new products, services, or business models launched within a specified recent period.

  
  

• Cost savings: quantify the financial efficiencies or reductions in operational expenses achieved through implemented innovation projects.

  
  

• Adoption rate: track the speed and breadth at which new products, services, or processes are utilized by their target users or customers.

  
  

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): gauge customer loyalty and satisfaction with new innovations by measuring their willingness to recommend the product or service.

  
  

• Return on Investment (ROI): assess the financial profitability of innovation initiatives by comparing the gains from an innovation project against its cost.

Takeaways

As tough as it is to pin down innovation, measuring it clearly shows that cross-functional collaboration is essential for success. Here are a few final takeaways:

1. Cultivate Internal Partnerships.
   Internal partnerships are crucial for everything from client access and user research to IT support. You just can't help anyone effectively if you're constantly battling within your own organization. Innovation teams, much like design teams, can sometimes be seen as non-essential luxuries; instead, they need to be engrained into the core operations of the business, just as Apple famously made good design and UX central to their product decisions.

   
   

2. Document and Communicate Relentlessly.
   Capture everything using clear schemas and don't wait for the perfect end result before sharing updates- that'll only scare the organization. Provide templated content so the whole team and the rest of the business can easily communicate how the organization is innovating with clients and coworkers. The worst-case scenario is a team that doesn't know what everyone's working on; avoiding weak links requires establishing a shared sense of ownership and responsibility.

   
   

3. Empower and Invest in Your Employees.
   Don't just implement new tech and processes from the top-down; that's a surefire way to start a mutiny. Innovation needs to be engrained in the company culture. Seek out employees' actual experiences, offer everyone opportunities to grow, and treat innovation as truth-recorders- echoing the company's voice and translating it into actionable insights.

Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions or comments please reach out!

-DK